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Friday, October 22, 2004

Good Ol' Charlie Brown

I went in for the test today, and to read I brought along my copy of The Complete Peanuts, Volume One. Boy, was that a good choice. I've always identified with a lot of the characters; Linus and I are both precocious intellectuals, and Snoopy and I are both frustrated writers with sometimes too-vivid imaginations. But I've always loved Charlie Brown the best. Charlie Brown, the funny-looking kid who doesn't feel the way he's supposed to feel, never catches a break, and is forever stymied in love by his own lack of confidence. A modern Sisyphus in every sense, because although he's forever trapped in this state (both by the mechanics of the strip and by his own shortcomings), he never gives up. Aside from the occasional "Good Grief," he never adds to his burden with despair. He still steps up to the pitcher's mound, still makes a run for the football, still keeps dreaming about the little red-haired girl. He keeps the faith. And if Charlie Brown can do it, I owe myself no less.